Baby Room Project Phase 1 and 2

Owen and the baby will be sharing a room in just a short time. So we decided to paint. Here are some pictures of our progress...

Furniture out, plastic down, primer up.

First coat of primer up. Thanks for the help Owen!

Sister Sinclair. (One of her last projects before going home.)

Sister Laekahe (sp?) thanks for the cheerful help.

Sister Cartwright perfecting her painting techniques. She also has a wonderful talent for keeping Owen out of trouble. :)

Garett working on the border.
It's way more labor intensive than we thought it would be.

Oval number one only 45 more to go.

I will post more pictures as the work continues. :)

Winter Fun

Last night we had a nice relaxing evening and the wonderful surprise of SNOW!

Owen reading the paper.

Wrestling with Dad.

The snow is here! But not for long.

Wow! Just a few hours later.

Sadly it was all gone by the morning. :(

Get a Free iPhone Experiment

I think this is the first time I have ever wrote on our family blog, but I have information I think all of you can benefit from. I have received dozens, if not hundreds of emails claiming to give away a free prize and all you have to do is sign up with a sponsor in Level A, 2 sponsors in Level B, give your first born to fulfill Level C, etc... and then you will receive the "Free Prize". I admit, I've tried one or two of those types of offers before, and while I enjoyed the Online Blockbuster or Video Professor CDs, I got no free prize.
I am 95% sure I have accidentally stumbled across the real deal and I would love everyone's help in proving that hypotheses. I am opting for the iPhone. In order for me to fulfill the requirements, I need to sign up for 1 offer and refer 8 people to this deal to receive their own iPhone. Do not feel obligated to help if this is not for you, but you can at least follow my progress through the banner I have embedded at the top of our blog. I did that so you all can track my progress in receiving a free iPhone.
I wouldn't do this myself if I thought it was a fraud. I did my research and discovered the company behind these promotions. Company name is Transcendent Innovations and their official company website is www.trainn.org. Check the site out, do whatever research you need to. I found most of what I needed to know by searching the website name "yourfreeiphone".
If you would like to take part in my experiment, it is easy to do.

1. Click on my referral link to sign up for your iPhone offer so that I can be credited for your sign up to fulfill my 8 referral requirement. Just click on the banner I put at the top or click Here to register.
2. Sign up for 1 offer. They have BlockbusterOnline, Netflix, QuickBooks and others I would not try which some of you may find very useful. I signed up for Stamps.com which starts you with a 4 week free trial and requires you to keep your account open for a minimum of 21 days to receive credit for the offer. When I cancel in 21 days I will be charged nothing. But even if I am, it's a $15/month charge. I hear QuickBooks is even simplier to sign up for, but whatever you do make sure to read the details and know exactly what you are signing up for.
3. Refer 8 of your friends to the referral link you will receive. When this works for me and I receive my iPhone, it should be real easy to contact the bloggers you know and show them proof this is for real.
4. Check YourFreeiPhone.com account often to track your own status. When you get the number of referrals you need, the company verifies your fulfilled requirements. Once approved, you will get your iPhone in 2 weeks or less.

You will see when you go to the website that you don't have to get the iPhone, they have other options which even include sending the cash value of the product to your PayPal account. Just make sure I am getting credited for whatever option you choose.

Oh yeah! My wife just came in and told me to make sure I also give a family update so here it goes. We are all alive, I work...she works harder(with Owen)...I like my work...I don't know if she does...and we're all doing great. About as All-American as it gets. Then again, what is considered All-American? Good night everybody!

Bounce House Fun

Today we had fun with Heidi and the Girls. They spent the night last night so I could go to an early morning appointment ALONE. That's right, I had 2 hours to myself! Thank you Heidi. So afterwards we headed over to the Bounce House and had a blast climbing, jumping, sliding and all that good stuff. I did way too much and wore myself out, then again so did everyone else.

Here's Taylor after going down the slide head first on her back!

It's Mya with Aunty April

Heidi having fun!

Owen being incredibly brave and sliding down unassisted down a steep slide.

Woo Hoo!

Poor Owen, ready to call it a night.

Taylor was a great help with Owen and Mya, she lifted them and encouraged them to try new things. They all had a lot of fun and even made new friends.

A Lovely Saturday

Today was such a lovely day. It was not too cold and we were up and out the door at a decent
time. (Always a tough feat with a two year old) We did some window shopping and headed home for nap time. Garett worked on the cars for a bit then we were out again. I got some wonderful deals at Wallyworld. A kids shirt for 1.50, slippers for Owen 3.00 and slippers for me 5.00. Garett's quick driving reflexes and keen eye for good food led us to the only Little Caesars I've seen in a long time. So we indulged in a yummy pizza, some crazy bread and sauce for dinner. We ate the crazy bread in the car. Owen was was going "mmmm" "mmmm" from the back seat most of the way home. I agree with Owen "mmm" "mmm".
Here are some pictures from today. I thought it was time to post a picture of pregnant me.

Me trying to get Owen ready to go. Just let go of the slinky already!

Tough guy.

Me and baby girl at 7 months.

Smile for Daddy

Our big cheezer. It's hard not to love a face like this. :)

What's your New Year's Resolution?

I haven't thought much about what I want out of this coming year. Have you? So far we have plans to finish painting before the baby arrives and hopes to be prepared for the big arrival.

I think I would like to...
1. Adjust well to the new baby, like sleeping and eating sometime during the first 3 months.
2. Journal more often. Twice monthly would be good.
3. Stay in better contact with loved ones.
4. Find a new talent.
5. Read more - of everything.
6. Feed my family more healthy foods.
7. Exercise with my family.
8. Stay organized.
9. Continue and increase spending meaningful time with my family.
10. Last, learn how to take really great pictures.

I'll have to think more on the the interpersonal goals. But this is a good start.

Happy 2008!

I can hardly believe the new year has arrived! We have had such a wonderful 2007 and hope that in 2008 we will be just as blessed.

I have not posted anything about our holiday... so here you are if you weren't there.
On Saturday, December 22, 2007 we celebrated Christmas before leaving town. We made the mistake of opening stockings first. They were loaded with candy treats so Owen had no desire to open his presents. After a struggle for the candy we encouraged Owen to unwrap his gifts, he just wanted to play with the bows and jump off the boxes like he has been doing for the past month. :) Half an hour later we have opened his Tonka dump truck and a Magna Doodle. He loves them both.

Owen relaxing with his bear and favorite blanket.

Our advent calendar-yes, I realize the 5 is backwards.

Afterwards we packed up the car and drove to Mississippi. It was a long drive with lots of stops along the way, but with a borrowed DVD player, the trip went smoothly. (Thank you Ruth)

In Mississippi we stayed with Garett's family and had a wonderful visit. Owen had a hard time adjusting to the new sleeping arrangements on the first night and didn't fall asleep until 1am EST! But after the first night he did pretty well for an almost 2-year old. While in town we were able to visit with lots of extended family, it was so nice to see everyone. I think we all look about the same, with the exception of the kids. They are growing so fast! Christmas evening we continued our celebration Owen was thrilled to get Car's toys and PJ's he plays with them all the time. Another perk of Mississippi is the space to run and play, Owen spent some quality time outside pulling a wagon and chasing the chickens. Going home was hard to do but we left the day after Christmas and had another long drive, Owen was happy to be home and settled right into his bed.

Jaeleigh, not wanting me to break her concentration. :)

Owen and Keaton

Taylor and Keaton

Owen with Grandma and his new Car's view finder.

Once home we were able to visit with my side of the family. Christi and Skot drove in from Chicago and Wendi and Marilee came in from South Carolina, Heidi, Taylor and Mya are already in town - only twenty minutes away since they moved. :) Thursday night we hung out and went to see Enchanted, which was a really cute, make you love princesses and happy endings kind of a movie. On the way home Owen threw up for the first time ever, real throw up, not baby spit up. Surprisingly he had no fever and felt so much better that he just fell asleep. There was quite the mess to clean up when we got home and I have to thank Garett and Christi for tackling the grossest of them all, with my pregnant nose I was nearly useless. Even though Owen felt better it was not the end of the up chucking. We started Owen on the BRAT diet, it helped while he recovered. Friday Garett and Owen took it easy at home while I picked up Owen's new big boy bed frame! I'm excited to get it all together. I also did all the shopping all alone! It was so much easier! Saturday Wendi and Marilee arrived in town. Late through the night Garett got Owen's sickness and stayed in bed recovering most of Sunday. He is much better now. The rest of the week has been happily uneventful, playing with cousins and hanging out with sisters. Garett went back to work today and now we are back to "real life".

Owen and aunt kiki.

Mya, loving life!

Skot and Christi checking out their new book from the kids.

Taylor, being kind to the baby doll, I cannot say the same for my little guy.

Wendi, Marilee and Christi

To all our relatives, if you have pictures of us from this Christmas, please send us a digital copy. The tree and decorations are already down and we did a terrible job of getting any picture of us as a family, or at all for that matter. Please and Thank you!

I hope you all had wonderful holiday celebrations !